Suggestions for General Use
Keep a decent amount of memory available in the main memory.
- Your PDA includes plenty of memory for fast, efficient functioning--but it isn't all in the main memory. Programs need extra space in the main memory to run. Thus, if you install large additional programs (such as Skype) or programs with large databases (such as GPS maps), install them to a memory card instead of the main memory. With the latest English OS system, this is easy--it'll ask you where you want to install it during installation. With the other systems, it's almost that simple..Use the Windows installer to install programs from your desktop or notebook computer. Note that the installer may first want to install something to your PC--let it. Then it'll verify the connection to your mobile device and ask you if you want to install to the default directory. Click "NO." It'll then pop up a menu asking where you want to install the program to. Choose the Built-in Storage or a memory card. If you're not installing from a Windows computer, copy the CAB file to your memory card, then use cabinstl_en.exe to install the program to the memory card (if cabinstl_en.exe isn't already in the Backup Files folder on your SD card, google and download it. You can install tens of gigabytes of programs and files to your PDA--just don't try to install it all to the main memory.
Over-filling the main memory could cause some programs to run slowly, to misbehave, or to crash.
Before buying a memory card, check to be sure it's compatible with your device; before using any card, format it properly
- The new SDHC cards will run ONLY on the new (March 08 forward) English OS version of the system (it can also use regular SD cards and all CF cards). The Japanese and older English systems can use Compact Flash (CF) and regular SD cards only (SD up to 4 GB is OK). However, I don't just mean to check that it's a format the PDA accepts; sometimes particular memory cards simply don't work with particular devices. In general, the vast majority of cards work well on the Axim and iPAQ, but there are a few out there that don't.. Here's a list some industrious users have compiled for the Axim, but you should also do an internet search combining the exact name of the card you're looking at and "X51V" or "hx4700" to see if anyone online has noted a problem with the combination. I suspect a lot of the cards people think don't work actually would work fine if the person reporting the problem read my next bullet point.
- Windows computers slightly misformat SD cards--data written to them sometimes becomes invisible to the PDA (because digital cameras and mp3 players use the cards in a simpler way, the problem often doesn't show up on them, only on PDAs). For some reason, many cards come from the factory with the defective Windows format rather than the official, standard SD format. To avoid problems, I recommend reformatting any card you buy before using it. You can do it in a Mac, a digital camera, or on the PDA itself using a program like Resco Explorer or FlashFormat (under $12 and a dream, it even fixes cards that appear to be broken). 4 GB cards will have to formatted as FAT32.
Troubleshooting
Problem: After a crash, hard reset, or complete battery drain (PDA not charged for weeks or months), you see a wierd screen and can't get past it.
Cause: Crash, hard reset, or loss of power.
Solution: See these instuctions for setting the PDA up again.
Problem: After a crash, hard reset, or complete battery drain, you set the system up again, but EB Pocket no longer appears in the program menu--no way to access the dictionaries.
Cause: Crash, hard reset, or loss of power wiped the system back to factory fresh, before I installed EB Pocket.
Solution: See these instuctions for restoring the iPAQ and these for restoring the Axim to the way it was when you first got it, or to the state it was in when you made a later backup.
Problem: In the old English OS, input methods suddenly disappear or no longer function properly, requiring a soft reset to restore them.
Cause: Too many input methods competing for a share of system resources (not a problem in newer English OS systems)
Solution: Disable input methods you don't use
- First, in Pocket Word or EB Pocket, figure out which Input Methods you want to keep and which you can get rid of. Then, use the program Pocket Tweak to shut down the ones you don't need (you can use the same program to start them up again later; they're not lost for good; if that link goes dead,. download from here). Transfer the Pocket Tweak CAB file to your memory card via a card reader or by using your sync software. It doesn't matter where on your device or memory card you put it (as long as you can find it again). Use your PDA's File Explorer program to find the file, tap it with the Stylus, and it will automatically install the program. Then go to Settings, tap the "System" tab, look for Pocket Tweak, and tap that to start the program. Then use the arrows at the bottom to get to the Input Panel menu and deselect the Input Methods you don't use. Then do a soft reset. This seems to fix the problem pretty reliably. My one suggestion is that if you later decide to reactivate some of the methods, DON'T reactivate Transcriber--it conflicts with the Japanese methods and causes more problems.
Problem: PDA won't connect through the cradle; error message says USB hardware or USB driver problem
Cause: Dust bunny or bad physical connection.
Solution: Clean contacts, push PDA firmly onto cradle to seat it better, try USB sync/charge cable instead
- One of the PDAs I bought wouldn't connect through the cradle (although it did charge OK). The error message said the USB connection wasn't functioning and I should check drivers, etc. I thought I'd gotten stuck with a brick. I finally found the answer through Google. Some guy had the same problem and traced it to a bent wire in his cradle. So I took a good look at the connections on the PDA and cradle and saw that my problem was even dumber--there was a dust bunny in the PDA's connector. I'd spent a good four hours poking around the instruction book and the internet and panicking, but it turned out to be something that took one small breath and a tenth of a second to fix.
Problem: In old English PDA, can't see Japanese as you type it or kanji to choose in some programs not specifically designed for Japanese input (Word, Excel, Notes, etc.)
Cause: ??? (not a problem in the newer English OS systems)
Solution: Tap book icon in IME pallet to bring up user dictionary, then immediately close the user dictionary. Why opening and then closing the user dictionary fixes the problem is a mystery--kudos to the valiant customer who figured out this solution.
Problem: On the iPAQ, get a low backup battery warning even though the system has been charged
Cause: (1) The battery cover was jarred, causing the backup battery to be switched out of the charging circuit; or (2) you've been swapping charged batteries into the iPAQ but not actually charging the iPAQ itself, meaining the internal backup battery hasn't had a chance to charge; or (3) the battery cover switch isn't working.
Solution: Make sure the battery cover latch is firmly in the locked position, do a soft reset. If it's due to a broken battery cover switch, go to Settings/Personal/Sounds and Notifications (the speaker icon), tap the second tab, Notifications, and from the pull-down menu choose Low Batt Warning, then deselect all the check boxes for it.
Problem: On the iPAQ, changing the battery causes a hard reset (OS needs to set up again, starting with screen calibration, and the dictionary software is missing when it gets going again).
Cause: (1) you've been swapping charged batteries into the iPAQ but not actually charging the iPAQ itself, meaining the internal backup battery hasn't had a chance to charge; or (2) the battery cover switch isn't working; or (3) the backup battery is dead (letting the main battery die completely many times will kill the backup).
Solution: Charge the iPAQ itself; if the battery cover switch is bad, backup your system to the SD card before changing batteries using the built-in iPAQ Backup program; then after putting in the fresh battery use the same program to restore the system from the backup you just made. Do the same if the backup battery is dead. The backup battery is easily replaceable.